[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 61ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF ISRAEL

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                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 4, 2009

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support 
for H. Con. Res. 111, a resolution recognizing the sixty-first 
anniversary of Israel's independence.
  Just eleven minutes after the establishment of Israel on May 14, 
1948, President Truman recognized its status as a sovereign nation. 
That moment marked the beginning of an enduring relationship between 
our two countries.
  Israel and its citizens have made outstanding contributions to global 
prosperity and culture. The whole world has benefited from Israeli 
advances in science, medicine, technology, and the arts. As the 
longest-enduring democracy in the Middle East, Israel is a strong and 
trusted ally in a volatile region.
  After more than six decades, the United States remains committed to 
its friendship with Israel. This friendship has endured, and will 
endure, because our countries share fundamental values.
  The Jewish People's Council, in approving the Declaration of the 
Establishment of the State of Israel, articulated many of our common 
values, stating ``The state of Israel . . . will be based on freedom, 
justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will 
ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its 
inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee 
freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.''
  On the occasion of its Independence Day, I congratulate the people of 
Israel for their continued commitment to these democratic principles. I 
look forward to strengthening our relationship based on our many common 
ties in the decades to come.

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